Adoption rates fall for fifth year in B.C.

Lindsay Kines, victoria Times Colonist06.19.2014

British Columbia's children and family development ministry and the province's independent representative for children and youth say B.C.'s adoption rates for children in government care must increase dramatically. Children's Minister Stephanie Cadieux, shown, and children's representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond held a joint news conference today to outline a six-point strategy.Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

British Columbia's children and family development ministry and the province's independent representative for children and youth say B.C.'s adoption rates for children in government care must increase dramatically.
Children's Minister Stephanie Cadieux and children's representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond held a joint news conference today to outline a six-point strategy.DARREN STONE
/ TIMES COLONIST

British Columbia's children and family development ministry and the province's independent representative for children and youth say B.C.'s adoption rates for children in government care must increase dramatically.
Children's Minister Stephanie Cadieux and children's representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond held a joint news conference today to outline a six-point strategy.Don Healy
/ Regina Leader-Post

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VICTORIA — More than 1,000 foster children are waiting to find permanent homes in B.C. because the government has failed to make adoption a priority, a new report says.

Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said the number of adoptions has dropped in each of the past five years.

In 2012-13, only 205 of more than 1,300 eligible children were adopted compared to 323 adoptions in 2007-8, the report said.

“That simply is too many children without a forever family and we can do much better,” Turpel-Lafond said Thursday as she released her report, Finding Forever Families.

The number of newly approved adoptive homes also dropped over the same time period, to 213 in 2012-13 from 336 in 2008-09, the report found.

Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux vowed that her office will do better and work with Turpel-Lafond to increase adoption rates across the province.

“We know that young people who have a foundation in a permanent home do better in life,” she said. “They’re more likely to graduate, to go to post-secondary and to find successful careers. They’re less likely to become involved with the social welfare and criminal justice systems.”

Turpel-Lafond wants the ministry to manage adoptions through a central office and to launch a high-profile campaign to raise awareness.

“Our message today to British Columbians is: If you are able to provide a ‘forever family’ to one of these children and youth, please apply,” Turpel-Lafond said in a release.

She also recommended the ministry establish external oversight and public reporting of adoption planning, and take specific steps to improve adoption rates for aboriginal children, who are over-represented in the child welfare system.

The report found that although aboriginal children accounted for 63 per cent of children in care in 2012-13, they represented less than 35 per cent of the children adopted that year.

The report also found that many children wait years to get adopted, while some of them age out of the child welfare system without ever establishing ties to family or other significant adults. “Too often children are living in foster care for extended periods of time,” the report states.

A recent government review concluded that the average length of time a child spends in foster care increased from 5.5 years in 2001-02 to nearly eight years in 2011-12.

Cadieux said her office is already taking action, having announced in April that it will spend $2 million this year to speed the adoption process and boost the number of adoptions to 300 by March 31, 2015.

But she confirmed that the ministry will tackle the problem without adding any new employees. The report says workers blame staffing cuts for the fact fewer adoptive homes are getting approved.

“Certainly, we do have challenges with the number of front-line staff we have working on adoption and guardianship,” Cadieux said. “And we have challenges financially as a ministry, in all of our areas, to meet our goals.”

Janis Fry of the Adoptive Families Association of B.C. welcomed the joint effort by the ministry and Turpel-Lafond’s office. “I think it’s great that adoption’s back on the radar,” she said.

But Fry expressed concerned that government has only committed $2 million in one-time funding. “I’d love to see it be ongoing funding where we can really get some stable programs in place.”

She also took issue with the emphasis on numbers and timelines alone.

“I think we also have to focus on the quality of the placements and make sure these children are properly prepared for it and that the families are properly prepared and educated for what they’re going to encounter and that they get the support afterwards.”

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Adoption rates fall for fifth year in B.C.

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